Ajax
Ajax is a deity in the ''Wheel of Fire ''setting and a member of the Pantheon of the Three. He is the creative master of the Three, the First Artist, but his twisted heart brought adversity and corruption to the world Sayos and Caoku made. His failed attempts at creating new races brought about the creation of demon-kind. Description and Personality Legends and holy writ describe Ajax as a tall and lithe man, with a crown of dark hair, striking features and flashing eyes. He is the counterpart to his brother Sayos: where Sayos roars and rumbles, Ajax speaks in whispers little more than silence. His contact with mortals is potent, but fleeting, and many artists and craftsmen who give worship to Ajax bless and curse his name in equal measure. More than appearance and outward demeanor separate Ajax from Sayos, however. He is the 'Bringer of the Dark Airs,' and wraps himself in layers of sullen, uncertain brooding, punctuated by moments of creative genius and desire that 'Make the ascetic quake by the power of his profane delight.' He rarely seeks companionship and prefers to keep to himself, save his sister, Caoku, and those that share his zeal for the creative 'spark.' Origins In the beginning, only What Was and What Was Not, the Moadi, existed. They were the first Gods, and where they pressed close they gave life, in the form of Caoku and Ajax. This was good, as the Moadi, being only opposing forces of all, could not pause to create or rule their creations, but when Caoku and Ajax gained understanding of themselves and the Moadi, What Was lost its meaning, and thus its power. Worse yet, the Moadi were nothing but their power, and What Was Not was forced to take their partner's place while What Was slowly ebbed away, after which What Was Not become What Could Be. This is why the future is uncertain, and why prophecy is the domain of the Gods alone. What Could Be did not desire for its children to be alone, and granted a portion of its power to the sun, the source of light which had illuminated all from the beginning, so that it could marry Caoku. The sun rose with the power of What Could Be, and in doing so illuminated the rocks and soil below and gave rise to the First Day, full of power and promise. The sun, understanding this, became Sayos, the Keeper of Promise, the Life-Giver, and gladly took Caoku's hand in marriage, so that she could become Mother to the life that Sayos would reveal. Infidelity and Incest Ajax was unhappy and alone. Caoku, his sister, had companionship, but Ajax had nothing, as the world was still uncreated. While Sayos and Caoku were busy searching for life in the rock below, What Could Be therefore decided to give of itself again again to the world below, making it malleable to Ajax's whims, as Caoku was to Sayos, so that Ajax could have a wife of his own. But What Could Be had made a mistake: being a Moadi, and having given of its power a second time, it lost the ability to maintain form and purpose, and thus the ability to intercede in the disasters to come. This is why the future remains uncertain, even at times to the Gods themselves, as What Could Be remains weak and uncertain itself to this day. Even worse, the world below did not answer to Ajax's desires, and though he could with his power reshape the world below, it did not push back, did not press close to Ajax or answer his demands. Ajax's despair rose to a frenzied pitch, as while Ajax had been agreeable to the wishes of What Could Be, in his heart Ajax desired only his sister Caoku, and the cold embrace of the earth only fueled his incestuous need for his sister's warmth. Treason and Consequences When Sayos and Caoku returned from their fruitless search, they found a span of land upon the world that was worked into many wonders and beautiful forms. Ajax had done much, making mountains and clouds, lakes and new lands from his cold, unfeeling wife. Ajax turned to Sayos, and asked him to help illuminate his latest artwork, which he called Nature. He then asked for his sister's company, so that he could show these wonders to her. Both Sayos and Caoku agreed whole-heartedly; they knew Ajax had been unhappy and unwell, and were eager to alleviate their brother's melancholy. Towards the end of their journey through nature, however, Ajax took Caoku deep below the surface into caves and labyrinths designed by his hand. Caoku hesitated, as they had journeyed far from Sayos's light, but she had been apart from Ajax for so long, and loved her brother in all ways appropriate and dear for siblings, so when Ajax implored her, saying the depths below were his favorite of his works, she relented and followed Ajax into a place far removed from the world they knew, so far as to be a world unto itself. There, Ajax trapped her, confessing his needs and working every manner of persuasion upon her, in order that she would renounce the sun and fill the twisted hole in Ajax's heart. But Caoku was loyal, and Caoku was steadfast, and endured many trials which are spoken of in other tales and legends. In time, Sayos understood the depths of Ajax's betrayal, and his rage burned away all other landmasses, save the one where Ajax's Nature had been made. Sayos then employed the assistance of legendary persons drawn from the races newly formed by Sayos and Caoku during their travels and descended in the underworld, the other world where Ajax had hidden Caoku, and after many struggles and heroic feats were able to rescue her. Sayos felt little but contempt for Ajax, but he did not slay his brother: though twisted, Ajax had never laid a hand upon his sister, and Sayos saw in Ajax a dark reflection of his own love for Caoku. Instead, Sayos cursed Ajax, banishing him to the dark labyrinths that Ajax himself had created. This is why those gifted with Ajax's creative fervor appear lost, for they mimic the God's own wanderings in his dark world. The Light that Was Not Lost and alone, Ajax became fixated on the fact that his sister had chosen Sayos rather than her own flesh and blood, and was slowly driven mad in his isolation. He became convinced that she had done so because of Sayos's light, and that if Ajax had a light of his own that he could gain her attention, and, more importantly, her favor; after all, Ajax considered himself superior to Sayos. Was he not born of the Moadi? What else had Sayos done, except to shine his light and mark the passage of days? Ajax, thus convinced, took the reflected light of Sayos still trapped in the underworld, and fashioned from it a bright and terrible crystal he called Chaos. With it, Ajax planned to make himself the equal of Sayos and Caoku both, bringing forth new life and revealing the worlds below, but all he could produce when wielding Chaos were failed creations, creatures misshapen in both body and spirit. This is why the creative madness of Ajax, the 'spark', is so self-destructive in mortals. Undeterred and unwilling to concede, Ajax made more with his crystal, but Chaos found its way into every work he made, and new corruptions and flaws were made flesh, as if the twist awry in Ajax’s heart dominated his every work. Disease, decay and demons of every form poured forth from Ajax’s hands, gifting adversity – the last gift of the Pantheon – to the previously clean and simple world of his siblings. Religion and Worship Ajax is venerated along with Sayos and Caoku, though unlike his siblings prayers to Ajax are offered to request his presence and remove it in equal measure. In most litanies and ceremonies involving multiple Gods of the Pantheon, Ajax is invoked first, for he was the first to lay his feet upon the ground, the first to shape the world and the first to see the possibilities of creation. It is also a nod to his brooding mood; though exiled to the darkness, Sayos dictated this practice as a homage to his brother's genius, and as an attempt to assuage his depression. Devotees to Ajax hail him as the architect of the world, and some druids choose to acknowledge him as having crafted Nature itself, as the potter makes his craft from cold, unfeeling clay. Some offer prayer to Ajax in order to stem their darkest urges, as Ajax did when he could have taken advantage of Caoku's body when she was trapped, while others seek in Ajax a benefactor to their immoral greatness, when the uninspired masses have turned their backs. Demons with some degree of self-awareness rarely choose Ajax's path, as Ajax cast them out of his darkness into a plane never intended to exist at all when his fouled creations came to life. Out of all the deities of the Pantheon, Ajax has the fewest physical appearances in the Book of Acts, the scripture detailing the feats the Gods performed while they existed in the mortal realm. There are, however, many references to his works and wonders, and a great many tales involve ordeals of travel to Ajax's domain, in order to receive his advice or request items made by the First Artist's hands. Clerics of Ajax are often intemperate, and indulge in pleasure and penitence in equal measure, but can work wonders of creative ingenuity where other holy men's efforts fail. They also often server as patrons and advisors to creative efforts, and tithes to Ajax often go towards centers of learning and artistic accomplishment. Game Information The domains of Ajax are Artifice, Chaos, Earth and Trickery. His subdomains are Caves, Industry, Loss, and Riot. Clerics of Ajax used to embrace the domain of Madness as well, but Caoku and her divine offspring were able to grant Ajax a portion of control over Chaos before they left mortal realms. Ajax's alignment is Chaotic Neutral. His favored weapon is the pick, as an homage to his efforts to escape his eternal prison. His favored animal is the cat, though all felines are considered holy by clerics of Ajax. Category:NPC Category:Deity